Mixed News For Region In Online Job Ad Survey

The number of new online job ads in New England has stagnated since April while the rest of the country has seen a 10 percent rise, according to a new survey by the Conference Board.

Yet the region outpaced the country last month in online job ads per worker, with Hartford leading the pack.

The combination suggests that although New England will continue to have distance to travel before catching up with the nation in creating jobs, Hartford would lead the region, economists said Tuesday.

``The region might still be at the back of the pack, but at least it's not losing distance,'' said Ken Goldstein, an economist with the Conference Board.

``The good news for Hartford is, it's not getting any worse. If you believe the ad data, both print and online, Hartford's holding its own and has some momentum behind it,'' Goldstein said.

The number of new online job ads posted in New England in July rose to 140,900 from 139,300 in April, a 1 percent increase.

During the same period, online help-wanted ads across the country jumped 10 percent.

But New England topped the country with 1.88 new online help-wanted ads for every 100 workers, compared with the national average of 1.33. Hartford led the region with 1.95 online ads per 100 workers.

Indicators of future employment are followed closely in Connecticut because the state trails the nation in creating jobs.

Connecticut lost a higher percentage of jobs in the last recession than did the country as a whole, and it has recovered more slowly.

The state's 1.3 percent job growth during the past 12 months lagged the national growth rate of 1.7 percent, and Connecticut still needs to add another 29,000 jobs just to regain those lost since a peak in July 2000.

A recent survey of Connecticut purchasing managers suggested that the manufacturing sector may be on the rebound, with 29 percent of managers saying their companies hired full-time workers during the second quarter, up 10 percentage points from the first quarter and the highest reading in a year.

The Conference Board launched its online ad survey publicly in June, and so far has just four months of data.

It has not tracked the shift from print ads to online ads, but says both indicate similar trends.